It’s a highly controversial system passed as part of the state budget in April that links more than 50 percent of a teacher’s annual evaluation to their students test scores.

“We had negotiated a tentative agreement with the UTA for the APPR, required by law,” Superintendent Bruce Karam said of the new state-mandated teacher evaluation system. The district, along with hundreds across the state, recently received an extension on implementation while they work to sign a contract with the teachers. The membership voted the tentative agreement down, he said.

“Obviously, we’re unhappy with that,” he said. “We have $11 million on the line. We have approximately $5.1 million in building aid and about $6.2 million in operating aid.”

If the district and union aren’t able to meet in the middle, the district will not receive that state aid.

“We’ll have to cut hundreds of jobs to make that difference up,” he said. “We’ll continue negotiations. The district cannot withstand this loss of aid.”

UTA President Cherie Grant said the problem is the district is attempting to only add brief language to the contracts including the teacher evaluation systems, instead of make amendments to the agreement in its entirety.

“Prior to the vote (the membership) made it very clear to me and the negotiations team that they were interested in a salary increase,” Grant said. “When we present the next proposal, I’m certain they will be looking for an entire contract change.”

She said salary is the membership’s No. 1 concern — but “not because they’re greedy.”

“It’s because they have been five years working with a 0 percent increase in new money,” Grant said. “They are a year and a half without a new contract. They know the superintendent has had his contract renewed twice before expiration.”

Both parties said they hope for a resolution before the mid-March deadline.